Exclusive Interview: For King and Country's brand new album
For King and Country performing at Lee University's U-Church.
by Taylor Baker
Two days after the release of their new album "Burn the Ships," For King and Country continued the U-Church series and brought the Conn Center to its feet.
The Christian duo, made up of brothers Luke and Joel Smallbone, performed at Lee on Sunday, Oct. 7, for the first time. The Australian band played songs off their new album as well as some fan favorites.
"Burn the Ships," released as the duo’s third album on Oct. 8, 2018, has already managed to have four songs reach the top 50 chart on U.S. Christian charts. Lead single "joy" has reached the top of the charts with "God Only Knows" at 20th, "Amen" at 25th and “Pioneers” at 27th.
“‘Burn the Ships’ is very much dedicated to the whole concept of no retreat, to very aggressively leave the past in the past and move forward,” Joel said.
He continued by explaining the main themes of their new album being social, romantic and spiritual in nature.
“They were all very much written from a very kind of guttural place,” Joel said. “But this idea of hope and this idea of faith is one of the through lines. Whether we’re writing a song to our wives or writing a song about joy, there's this sense of hopefulness that carries it right through.”
Luke explained that it isn’t so much a decision for them as it is an exploration as they figure out the sound for the albums.
“It just becomes natural to make the sounds that you’re coming up with. A lot of sounds were made from both Joel and I just singing melodies into our voice memos then jacking with them and converting them in processes,” Luke said. “A lot of it just comes from walking around everyday life; you never know quite what’s going to hit you.”
According to Joel, the alternative side of their sound is the way they play off each other as a duo.
“I love theatrical scores and that sort of thing, and then Luke—every kind of tune that he hums has this great pop melody,” Joel said. “There’s this kind of fusion there, of the genres, that’s kind of fun.”
Their writing process might come across as a bit unusual. Luke said they show up with nothing but leave with something.
“It’s always just a fascinating process. For music, one of the gifts we get to experience a lot of is creation,” Luke said. “That’s an unexplainable thing that occurs, which I think shows how God gives us creativity. I think that’s why we’re all so drawn to art: it is instinctively in us to pursue art and to hopefully like good art.”
According to Joel, music can be used as a kind of escapism to further people from their reality or to drive people further into who and where they are.
“Yes, we want to be entertaining, and yes, we want to create a night where people kind of go to a different place. But I think that if they just escape from their world, it’s a bit of a shame,” Joel said. “I think we want them to really, with every performance, have a revelation or a new way of looking at life and God and relationships, their future or their past.”
The band was originally referred to as Joel & Luke, but the brothers decided they wanted a different name before the release of their first album. They said they came up with a lot of bad names before deciding on the one.
“We were in the studio making our first album, and I come in with the name All the King’s Men, from Humpty Dumpty,” Joel said. “Our producer swung around in his chair and said, ‘Hey, do you remember the old English phrase they were chanting in the Battle for King and Country?’ and that was it.”
In 2012, the duo released its debut album "Crave," which received praise from many, even being featured on Billboard’s “New Artists to Watch” that same year.
They released their second album "Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong,” in 2014, which kick-started the band’s career. The album includes the song "Without You," featuring Luke’s wife Courtney, that depicts a conversation held between the two during a hard time in their lives.
“I was very sick quite a few years ago, and I was trying to ignore the fact…that I was as sick as I was,” Luke said. “I was 26 years old and had this thought, ‘I’ll just battle through it.' Then my wife came to me and said, ‘You can’t just leave me here.’ You don’t anticipate hearing that.”
Those moments, like the unexpected interruption, are what Luke said makes their music tailored to real life.
“Those moments in life when you have those conversations with your spouse are some of the most real, and we try to write music that is real,” Luke said.
Along with writing music, the duo participated in the 2016 film "Priceless," Luke acting as a producer and Joel as an actor. The movie was about a man, played by Joel, helping a woman break free from sex trafficking.
“It was not an easy film to make, based on my character and some of the content that we were dealing with with human trafficking. But by the grace of God, we did it,” Joel said.
For more information about For King and Country, visit their website. Their new album “Burn the Ships” is available for purchase on iTunes and for streaming on Spotify and Apple Music.
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